by Official

President of the China Taoist Association: Ordained Taoist priests should abide by rules and disciplines and improve themselves.

2024-05-14
"You put on the Taoist robe and tied up your hair, just like the Monkey King putting on the tight headband, and everyone is a supervisor." Talking about the phenomena of some religious people having improper moral conduct and even seizing the opportunity to amass wealth, Li Guangfu, the president of the China Taoist Association, said in Beijing on the 6th that as an ordained Taoist priest, one should abide by rules and disciplines, improve oneself and regulate oneself. Only by doing well oneself can one guide and drive the society. The "Chinese Culture and the Sinicization of Religions" forum jointly sponsored by the China Religious Culture Communication Association was held in Beijing. At the forum, the heads of the five major religious groups in China and experts and scholars in the religious field conducted discussions on relevant topics. When interviewed, Li Guangfu, who attended the forum, said that Taoism should adapt to different places and keep pace with the times. After thousands of years of development, the spirit of Taoism has already integrated into the society. The social educational function of Taoism, on the one hand, is to respect the Tao and value virtue, accumulate good deeds and encourage people to do good deeds and kind deeds; on the other hand, it is the unity of heaven and man, the way of nature and the admiration of nature. Li Guangfu said that the commercialization of society has entered the field of Taoism, and some religious people have improper moral conduct and even the phenomenon of seizing the opportunity to amass wealth, which has brought bad social impacts. This is an aspect that we must pay attention to. The next step for Taoism is to standardize and institutionalize and turn Taoism into a pure land in society. "Taoism should submit to the management of the country and also accept the supervision of the society. All kinds of religions in China are not affected by foreign forces and have always adhered to the principles of independence and self-government, self-support and self-propagation. The religious departments of the government let religions manage themselves. One is to manage the temples well, protect the cultural relics and historic sites, and manage religious activities well; the other is to manage oneself well and improve the regulations of one's own clergy." Li Guangfu said. As one of the five major religions in China, Taoism is the only indigenous religion in China. However, many people have some misunderstandings about Taoism. When it comes to Taoism, what many people first think of is mostly fortune-telling and the Eight Diagrams. In response to this, Li Guangfu said that many people have forgotten the essence of Taoism and superficially think that Taoism is only fortune-telling, physiognomy and feng shui. In fact, such rituals as weddings, funerals and marriages are all forms of Taoism. Feng shui is just a one-sided name. In fact, it is the summary of the religious experience of Taoism for thousands of years. "In terms of suitability and comfort, people nowadays have deviated and only talk about feng shui. If the urban facilities are good, convenient and safe, people will say that the urban feng shui is good. From the perspective of Taoism, this is to express that the city has given people ease and peace." Li Guangfu said that Taoism advocates the unity of heaven and man and prays for peace, which involves all aspects of society. For example, adapting to different places is to use Taoist rituals to pray for the society and serve the society, leading people to be good and guiding the society well from the aspect of rituals. Li Guangfu said that Taoism should explain the scriptures and classics and guide people through the classics and traditions, such as "loyalty, filial piety and integrity", and such concepts run through all the time. "Taoism emphasizes loyalty, filial piety, integrity and achieving good results, guiding the public to respect the elders and care for the young, and letting people advocate the merit mind. In this regard, we guide them in multiple levels rather than unilaterally. At the same time, Taoism respects the Tao and values virtue and admires nature, and it is also guiding everyone to do more good deeds and kind deeds." Li Guangfu said.
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